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Stray
Tad has a he ran away from home only to find he has no place to stay in the big city. After selling his abusive father’s comics collection, the sixteen-year-old twink hasn’t near enough money for a bus ticket home.
Two days without food and two nights in an alley force him to do what he swore he wouldn’ trick for cash. But trick he must--just this once--to get back home, lest he end up living on the streets of Pittsburgh.
At Lucky’s Lounge, the thirty-something with the reptilian tattoos seems to be his ticket home. Bruce is a kind man, a generous man, a spiritual man who takes in strays of all kinds. But Bruce needs a different kind of fix, and Tad is his only way to get it.
What will Tad forfeit for a bus ticket home? To find out, download the short story "Stray," bone-chilling gay horror from Lee Allen Howard.
Two days without food and two nights in an alley force him to do what he swore he wouldn’ trick for cash. But trick he must--just this once--to get back home, lest he end up living on the streets of Pittsburgh.
At Lucky’s Lounge, the thirty-something with the reptilian tattoos seems to be his ticket home. Bruce is a kind man, a generous man, a spiritual man who takes in strays of all kinds. But Bruce needs a different kind of fix, and Tad is his only way to get it.
What will Tad forfeit for a bus ticket home? To find out, download the short story "Stray," bone-chilling gay horror from Lee Allen Howard.
- GenresHorror
27 pages, ebook
First published March 11, 2012
2 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Lee Allen Howard
30 books175 followersLee Allen Howard, MA, MFA, writes horror, LGBTQ horror, supernatural crime, dark mystery, and psychological thrillers.
His pubs include THE COVENANT SACRIFICE, DEATH PERCEPTION, THE SIXTH SEED, THE ADAMSON FAMILY, PERPETUAL NIGHTMARES, THE BEDWETTER, MAMA SAID, DESPERATE SPIRITS, NIGHT MONSTERS, and SEVERED RELATIONS.
His pubs include THE COVENANT SACRIFICE, DEATH PERCEPTION, THE SIXTH SEED, THE ADAMSON FAMILY, PERPETUAL NIGHTMARES, THE BEDWETTER, MAMA SAID, DESPERATE SPIRITS, NIGHT MONSTERS, and SEVERED RELATIONS.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 17, 2021
Stray is a short Gay horror story that starts off slowly and within half a page turns into a nightmare. A fast read that leaves little in imagination in both the Gay and Horror themes, Stray could most likely be a much more expansive story. making for a better reading.
Not that the story is a bad one, I think it could have benefited from being more detailed. Also while the horror aspect of the story involves an alien life form, I found it more (at least for me) of a scary sci-fi than a "bone-chilling" horror as the blurb suggest.
Not that the story is a bad one, I think it could have benefited from being more detailed. Also while the horror aspect of the story involves an alien life form, I found it more (at least for me) of a scary sci-fi than a "bone-chilling" horror as the blurb suggest.
June 7, 2022
Bizarre in a good way, written in a not so good one.
I love bizarre fiction, love weird horror. And that’s certainly what this is. I somehow didn’t realize that going into it but that’s fine.
But um. This is deceptively short. Kindle said it was 28 pages, but over half of the pages are promotions for other books. This would have been better as part of a collection rather than as a standalone. It’s not particularly strong- even ignoring the glaring typo on page two, the main character (who existed for all of 12 page) managed to be so annoying that I was mostly rooting for him to fail come horror time. The story is written in third-person, but occasional thoughts from the MC pop up in the narration and all but one of them (Please let me stay the night.) was annoying.
And the horror bit. lol It was totally bizarre (that’s fine), and I was kind of into it but the lack of detail made it difficult to get into. I found myself rereading sections to get a good mental image, or realizing something had happened several sentences later and going back to confirm that, oh I guess that plainly acknowledged [action] made him [spoiler thing], or something.
Anyway, it was weird and poorly done but I like where the author’s head is at so I’ll try a few of his longer works.
I love bizarre fiction, love weird horror. And that’s certainly what this is. I somehow didn’t realize that going into it but that’s fine.
But um. This is deceptively short. Kindle said it was 28 pages, but over half of the pages are promotions for other books. This would have been better as part of a collection rather than as a standalone. It’s not particularly strong- even ignoring the glaring typo on page two, the main character (who existed for all of 12 page) managed to be so annoying that I was mostly rooting for him to fail come horror time. The story is written in third-person, but occasional thoughts from the MC pop up in the narration and all but one of them (Please let me stay the night.) was annoying.
And the horror bit. lol It was totally bizarre (that’s fine), and I was kind of into it but the lack of detail made it difficult to get into. I found myself rereading sections to get a good mental image, or realizing something had happened several sentences later and going back to confirm that, oh I guess that plainly acknowledged [action] made him [spoiler thing], or something.
Anyway, it was weird and poorly done but I like where the author’s head is at so I’ll try a few of his longer works.
June 15, 2022
A rather weird but somewhat compelling story. Tad is a runaway on the streets, his encounter with Bruce is anything but average, flipping heck!
And then, that was it! I tuned the page and that was the end, the weirdest and most unsatisfying story I've ever read. What the heck!!!
And then, that was it! I tuned the page and that was the end, the weirdest and most unsatisfying story I've ever read. What the heck!!!
August 8, 2022
Received as a freebie for signing up for the author's newsletter.
A dark, queer horror short with an underage character (who is engaging in survival sex work) who narrowly escapes a weird and twisted death. I... did not love this.
A dark, queer horror short with an underage character (who is engaging in survival sex work) who narrowly escapes a weird and twisted death. I... did not love this.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews